Celery cultivar ADS-11

ABSTRACT

A celery cultivar, designated ADS-11, is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of celery cultivar ADS-11, to the plants of celery cultivar ADS-11 and to methods for producing a celery plant by crossing the cultivar ADS-11 with itself or another celery cultivar. The invention further relates to methods for producing a celery plant containing in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to the transgenic celery plants and plant parts produced by those methods. This invention also relates to celery cultivars or breeding cultivars and plant parts derived from celery cultivar ADS-11, to methods for producing other celery cultivars, lines or plant parts derived from celery cultivar ADS-11 and to the celery plants, varieties, and their parts derived from the use of those methods. The invention further relates to hybrid celery seeds, plants, and plant parts produced by crossing cultivar ADS-11 with another celery cultivar.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinctive celery (Apiumgraveolens var. dulce) variety, designated ADS-11. All publicationscited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.

There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirableplant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definitionof problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishmentof program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives.The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meetthe program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety or hybridan improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm.These important traits may include improved flavor, increased stalk sizeand weight, higher seed yield, improved color, resistance to diseasesand insects, tolerance to drought and heat, and better agronomicquality.

Practically speaking, all cultivated forms of celery belong to thespecies Apium graveolens var. dulce that is grown for its edible stalk.As a crop, celery is grown commercially wherever environmentalconditions permit the production of an economically viable yield. In theUnited States, the principal growing regions are California, Florida,Texas and Michigan. Fresh celery is available in the United Statesyear-round although the greatest supply is from November throughJanuary. For planting purposes, the celery season is typically dividedinto two seasons, summer and winter, with Florida, Texas and thesouthern California areas harvesting from November to July, and Michiganand northern California harvesting from July to October. Fresh celery isconsumed as fresh, raw product and occasionally as a cooked vegetable.

Celery is a cool-season biennial that grows best from 60° to 65° F. (16°to 18° C.), but will tolerate temperatures from 45° to 75° F. (7° to 24°C.). Freezing will damage mature celery by splitting the petioles orcausing the skin to peel, making the stalks unmarketable. This is anoccasional problem in plantings in the winter regions. However, celerycan tolerate minor freezes early in the crop.

The two main growing regions for celery in California are located alongthe Pacific Ocean: the central coast or summer production area(Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo Counties) and thesouth coast or winter production area (Ventura and Santa BarbaraCounties). A minor region (winter) is located in the southern deserts(Riverside and Imperial Counties).

In the south coast, celery is transplanted from early August to Aprilfor harvest from November to mid-July; in the Santa Maria area, celeryis transplanted from January to August for harvest from April throughDecember. In the central coast, fields are transplanted from March toSeptember for harvest from late June to late December. In the southerndeserts, fields are transplanted in late August for harvest in January.

Commonly used celery varieties for coastal production include Tall Utah52-75, Conquistador and Sonora. Some shippers use their own proprietaryvarieties. Celery seed is very small and difficult to germinate. Allcommercial celery is planted as greenhouse-grown transplants. Celerygrown from transplants is more uniform than from seed and takes lesstime to grow the crop in the field. Transplanted celery is placed indouble rows on 40-inch (100-cm) beds with plants spaced between 6.7 and7 inches (22.5-cm) apart.

Celery is an allogamous biennial crop. The celery genome consists of 11chromosomes. Its high degree of out-crossing is accomplished by insectsand wind pollination. Pollinators visiting celery flowers include alarge number of wasp, bee and fly species. Celery is subject toinbreeding depression which appears to be genotype dependent, since somelines are able to withstand continuous selfing for three or fourgenerations. Crossing of inbreds results in heterotic hybrids that arevigorous and taller than sib-mated or inbred lines.

Celery flowers are protandrous, with pollen being released 3-6 daysbefore stigma receptivity. At the time of stigma receptivity the stamenswill have fallen and the two stigmata unfolded in an upright position.The degree of protandry varies, which makes it difficult to performreliable hybridization, due to the possibility of accidental selfing.

Celery flowers are very small, significantly precluding easy removal ofindividual anthers. Furthermore, different developmental stages of theflowers in umbels makes it difficult to avoid uncontrolled pollinations.The standard hybridization technique in celery consists of selectingflower buds of the same size and eliminating the older and youngerflowers. Then, the umbellets are covered with glycine paper bags for a5-10 day period, during which the stigmas become receptive. At the timethe flowers are receptive, available pollen or umbellets shedding pollenfrom selected male parents are rubbed on to the stigmas of the femaleparent.

Celery plants require a period of vernalization while in the vegetativephase in order to induce seed stalk development. A period of 6-10 weeksat 5-8° C. is usually adequate. However, unless plants are beyond ajuvenile state or a minimum of 4 weeks old they may not be receptive tovernalization. Due to a wide range of responses to the cold treatment,it is often difficult to synchronize crossing, since plants will flowerat different times. However, pollen can be stored for 6-8 months at −10°C. in the presence of silica gel or calcium chloride with a viabilitydecline of only 20-40%, thus providing flexibility to perform crossesover a longer time.

For selfing, the plant or selected umbels are caged in cloth bags. Theseare shaken several times during the day to promote pollen release.Houseflies (Musca domestica) can also be introduced weekly into the bagsto perform pollinations.

Choice of breeding or selection methods depends on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thetype of cultivar used commercially (e.g., F₁ hybrid cultivar, purelinecultivar, etc.). For highly heritable traits, a choice of superiorindividual plants evaluated at a single location will be effective,whereas for traits with low heritability, selection should be based onmean values obtained from replicated evaluations of families of relatedplants. Popular selection methods commonly include pedigree selection,modified pedigree selection, mass selection, and recurrent selection.

The complexity of inheritance influences choice of the breeding method.Backcross breeding is used to transfer one or a few favorable genes fora highly heritable trait into a desirable cultivar. This approach hasbeen used extensively for breeding disease-resistant cultivars. Variousrecurrent selection techniques are used to improve quantitativelyinherited traits controlled by numerous genes. The use of recurrentselection in self-pollinating crops depends on the ease of pollination,the frequency of successful hybrids from each pollination, and thenumber of hybrid offspring from each successful cross.

Each breeding program should include a periodic, objective evaluation ofthe efficiency of the breeding procedure. Evaluation criteria varydepending on the goal and objectives, but should include gain fromselection per year based on comparisons to an appropriate standard, theoverall value of the advanced breeding lines, and the number ofsuccessful cultivars produced per unit of input (e.g., per year, perdollar expended, etc.).

Promising advanced breeding lines are thoroughly tested and compared toappropriate standards in environments representative of the commercialtarget area(s) for three years at least. The best lines are candidatesfor new commercial cultivars; those still deficient in a few traits areused as parents to produce new populations for further selection.

These processes, which lead to the final step of marketing anddistribution, usually take from ten to twenty years from the time thefirst cross or selection is made. Therefore, development of newcultivars is a time-consuming process that requires precise forwardplanning, efficient use of resources, and a minimum of changes indirection.

A most difficult task is the identification of individuals that aregenetically superior, because for most traits the true genotypic valueis masked by other confounding plant traits or environmental factors.One method of identifying a superior plant is to observe its performancerelative to other experimental plants and to a widely grown standardcultivar. If a single observation is inconclusive, replicatedobservations provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique and superior celerycultivars. The breeder initially selects and crosses two or moreparental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection, producingmany new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoretically generatebillions of different genetic combinations via crossing, selfing andmutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellular level.Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or even verysimilar lines, having the same celery traits.

Each year, the plant breeder selects the germplasm to advance to thenext generation. This germplasm is grown under unique and differentgeographical, climatic and soil conditions, and further selections arethen made, during and at the end of the growing season. The cultivarsthat are developed are unpredictable. This unpredictability is becausethe breeder's selection occurs in unique environments, with no controlat the DNA level (using conventional breeding procedures), and withmillions of different possible genetic combinations being generated. Abreeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the final resultinglines he develops, except possibly in a very gross and general fashion.The same breeder cannot produce the same line twice by using the exactsame original parents and the same selection techniques. Thisunpredictability results in the expenditure of large research monies todevelop superior celery cultivars.

The development of commercial celery cultivars requires the developmentof celery varieties, the crossing of these varieties, and the evaluationof the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breedingmethods are used to develop cultivars from breeding populations.Breeding programs combine desirable traits from two or more varieties orvarious broad-based sources into breeding pools from which cultivars aredeveloped by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The newcultivars are crossed with other varieties and the hybrids from thesecrosses are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.

Pedigree breeding is used commonly for the improvement ofself-pollinating crops or inbred lines of cross-pollinating crops. Twoparents which possess favorable, complementary traits, are crossed toproduce an F₁. An F₂ population is produced by selfing one or severalF₁'s or by intercrossing two F₁'s (sib mating). Selection of the bestindividuals is usually begun in the F₂ population; then, beginning inthe F₃, the best individuals in the best families are selected.Replicated testing of families, or hybrid combinations involvingindividuals of these families, often follows in the F₄ generation toimprove the effectiveness of selection for traits with low heritability.At an advanced stage of inbreeding (i.e., F₆ and F₇), the best lines ormixtures of phenotypically similar lines are tested for potentialrelease as new cultivars.

Mass and recurrent selections can be used to improve populations ofeither self- or cross-pollinating crops. A genetically variablepopulation of heterozygous individuals is either identified or createdby intercrossing several different parents. The best plants are selectedbased on individual superiority, outstanding progeny, or excellentcombining ability. The selected plants are intercrossed to produce a newpopulation in which further cycles of selection are continued.

Backcross breeding has been used to transfer genes for a simplyinherited, highly heritable trait into a desirable homozygous cultivaror line that is the recurrent parent. The source of the trait to betransferred is called the donor parent. The resulting plant is expectedto have the attributes of the recurrent parent (e.g., cultivar) and thedesirable trait transferred from the donor parent. After the initialcross, individuals possessing the phenotype of the donor parent areselected and repeatedly crossed (backcrossed) to the recurrent parent.The resulting plant is expected to have the attributes of the recurrentparent (e.g., cultivar) and the desirable trait transferred from thedonor parent.

The single-seed descent procedure in the strict sense refers to plantinga segregating population, harvesting a sample of one seed per plant, andusing the one-seed sample to plant the next generation. When thepopulation has been advanced from the F₂ to the desired level ofinbreeding, the plants from which lines are derived will each trace todifferent F₂ individuals. The number of plants in a population declineseach generation due to failure of some seeds to germinate or some plantsto produce at least one seed. As a result, not all of the F₂ plantsoriginally sampled in the population will be represented by a progenywhen generation advance is completed.

In addition to phenotypic observations, the genotype of a plant can alsobe examined. There are many laboratory-based techniques available forthe analysis, comparison and characterization of plant genotype; amongthese are Isozyme Electrophoresis, Restriction Fragment LengthPolymorphisms (RFLPs), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs),Arbitrarily Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Amplified Fragment Length polymorphisms (AFLPs), Simple Sequence Repeats(SSRs—which are also referred to as Microsatellites), and SingleNucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).

Isozyme Electrophoresis and RFLPs have been widely used to determinegenetic composition. Shoemaker and Olsen, (Molecular Linkage Map ofSoybean (Glycine max) p 6.131-6.138 in S. J. O'Brien (ed) Genetic Maps:Locus Maps of Complex Genomes, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, ColdSpring Harbor, N.Y., (1993)) developed a molecular genetic linkage mapthat consisted of 25 linkage groups with about 365 RFLP, 11 RAPD, threeclassical markers and four isozyme loci. See also, Shoemaker, R. C.,RFLP Map of Soybean, p 299-309, in Phillips, R. L. and Vasil, I. K.,eds. DNA-Based Markers in Plants, Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, theNetherlands (1994).

SSR technology is currently the most efficient and practical markertechnology; more marker loci can be routinely used and more alleles permarker locus can be found using SSRs in comparison to RFLPs. Forexample, Diwan and Cregan described a highly polymorphic microsatellitelocus in soybean with as many as 26 alleles. (Diwan, N. and Cregan, P.B., Theor. Appl. Genet. 95:22-225, 1997.) SNPs may also be used toidentify the unique genetic composition of the invention and progenyvarieties retaining that unique genetic composition. Various molecularmarker techniques may be used in combination to enhance overallresolution.

Molecular markers, which include markers identified through the use oftechniques such as Isozyme Electrophoresis, RFLPs, RAPDs, AP-PCR, DAF,SCARs, AFLPs, SSRs, and SNPs, may be used in plant breeding. One use ofmolecular markers is Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping. QTL mappingis the use of markers which are known to be closely linked to allelesthat have measurable effects on a quantitative trait. Selection in thebreeding process is based upon the accumulation of markers linked to thepositive effecting alleles and/or the elimination of the markers linkedto the negative effecting alleles from the plant's genome.

Molecular markers can also be used during the breeding process for theselection of qualitative traits. For example, markers closely linked toalleles or markers containing sequences within the actual alleles ofinterest can be used to select plants that contain the alleles ofinterest during a backcrossing breeding program. The markers can also beused to select toward the genome of the recurrent parent and against themarkers of the donor parent. This procedure attempts to minimize theamount of genome from the donor parent that remains in the selectedplants. It can also be used to reduce the number of crosses back to therecurrent parent needed in a backcrossing program. The use of molecularmarkers in the selection process is often called genetic marker enhancedselection or marker-assisted selection. Molecular markers may also beused to identify and exclude certain sources of germplasm as parentalvarieties or ancestors of a plant by providing a means of trackinggenetic profiles through crosses.

Mutation breeding is another method of introducing new traits intocelery varieties. Mutations that occur spontaneously or are artificiallyinduced can be useful sources of variability for a plant breeder. Thegoal of artificial mutagenesis is to increase the rate of mutation for adesired characteristic. Mutation rates can be increased by manydifferent means including temperature, long-term seed storage, tissueculture conditions, radiation (such as X-rays, Gamma rays, neutrons,Beta radiation, or ultraviolet radiation), chemical mutagens (such asbase analogs like 5-bromo-uracil), antibiotics, alkylating agents (suchas sulfur mustards, nitrogen mustards, epoxides, ethyleneamines,sulfates, sulfonates, sulfones, or lactones), azide, hydroxylamine,nitrous acid or acridines. Once a desired trait is observed throughmutagenesis the trait may then be incorporated into existing germplasmby traditional breeding techniques. Details of mutation breeding can befound in Principles of Cultivar Development by Fehr, MacmillanPublishing Company, 1993.

The production of double haploids can also be used for the developmentof homozygous varieties in a breeding program. Double haploids areproduced by the doubling of a set of chromosomes from a heterozygousplant to produce a completely homozygous individual. For example, seeWan et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 77:889-892, 1989.

Descriptions of other breeding methods that are commonly used fordifferent traits and crops can be found in one of several referencebooks (e.g., Principles of Plant Breeding John Wiley and Son, pp.115-161, 1960; Allard, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr,1987; “Carrots and Related Vegetable Umbelliferae”, Rubatzky, V. E., etal., 1999).

Proper testing should detect any major faults and establish the level ofsuperiority or improvement over current cultivars. In addition toshowing superior performance, there must be a demand for a new cultivarthat is compatible with industry standards or which creates a newmarket. The introduction of a new cultivar will incur additional coststo the seed producer, the grower, processor and consumer for specialadvertising and marketing, altered seed and commercial productionpractices, and new product utilization. The testing preceding release ofa new cultivar should take into consideration research and developmentcosts as well as technical superiority of the final cultivar. Forseed-propagated cultivars, it must be feasible to produce seed easilyand economically.

Celery in general is an important and valuable vegetable crop. Thus, acontinuing goal of celery plant breeders is to develop stable, highyielding celery cultivars that are agronomically sound. The reasons forthis goal are obviously to maximize the amount of yield produced on theland. To accomplish this goal, the celery breeder must select anddevelop celery plants that have the traits that result in superiorcultivars.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations relatedtherewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Otherlimitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill inthe art upon a reading of the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described inconjunction with systems, tools, and methods which are meant to beexemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In variousembodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have beenreduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to otherimprovements.

According to the invention, there is provided a novel celery cultivar,designated ADS-11. This invention thus relates to the seeds of celerycultivar ADS-11, to the plants of celery cultivar ADS-11 and to methodsfor producing a celery plant produced by crossing the celery ADS-11 withitself or another celery plant, to methods for producing a celery plantcontaining in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to thetransgenic celery plants produced by that method. This invention alsorelates to methods for producing other celery cultivars derived fromcelery cultivar ADS-11 and to the celery cultivar derived by the use ofthose methods. This invention further relates to hybrid celery seeds andplants produced by crossing celery cultivar ADS-11 with another celeryline.

In another aspect, the present invention provides regenerable cells foruse in tissue culture of celery cultivar ADS-11. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants having essentially all ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of the foregoingcelery plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially the samegenotype as the foregoing celery plant. Preferably, the regenerablecells in such tissue cultures will be callus, protoplasts, meristematiccells, leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips, anthers, pistils,flowers, seeds, petioles and suckers. Still further, the presentinvention provides celery plants regenerated from the tissue cultures ofthe invention.

Another objective of the invention is to provide methods for producingother celery plants derived from celery cultivar ADS-11. Celerycultivars derived by the use of those methods are also part of theinvention.

The invention also relates to methods for producing a celery plantcontaining in its genetic material one or more transgenes and to thetransgenic celery plant produced by those methods.

In another aspect, the present invention provides for single geneconverted plants of ADS-11. The single transferred gene may preferablybe a dominant or recessive allele. Preferably, the single transferredgene will confer such traits as male sterility, herbicide resistance,insect resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydratemetabolism, resistance for bacterial, fungal, or viral disease, malefertility, enhanced nutritional quality and industrial usage. The singlegene may be a naturally occurring celery gene or a transgene introducedthrough genetic engineering techniques.

The invention further provides methods for developing celery plant in acelery plant breeding program using plant breeding techniques includingrecurrent selection, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, restrictionfragment length polymorphism enhanced selection, genetic marker enhancedselection and transformation. Seeds, celery plants, and parts thereof,produced by such breeding methods are also part of the invention.

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference by thestudy of the following descriptions.

DEFINITIONS

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms,the following definitions are provided:

Allele. The allele is any of one or more alternative form of a gene, allof which relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cell ororganism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding loci on apair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing. Backcrossing is a process in which a breeder repeatedlycrosses hybrid progeny back to one of the parents, for example, a firstgeneration hybrid F₁ with one of the parental genotype of the F₁ hybrid.

Blackheart. Blackheart is due to a lack of movement of sufficientcalcium that causes the plant to turn brown and begin to decay at thegrowing point of the plant. Celery, in certain conditions such as warmweather, grows very rapidly and incapable of moving sufficient amountsof calcium to the growing point.

Bolting. The premature development of a flowering stalk, and subsequentseed, before a plant produces a food crop. Bolting is typically causedby late planting when temperatures are low enough to cause vernalizationof the plants.

Bolting Tolerance. The amount of vernalization that is required fordifferent celery varieties to bolt is genetically controlled. Varietieswith increased tolerance to bolting require greater periods ofvernalization in order to initiate bolting. A comparison of boltingtolerance between varieties can be measured by the length of theflowering stem under similar vernalization conditions.

Brown Stem. A disease caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas cichorii thatcauses petiole necrosis. Brown stem is characterized by a firm, browndiscoloration throughout the petiole.

Gross Yield (Pounds/Acre). The yield in pounds/acre is the actual yieldof the celery at harvest.

Crackstem. The petiole can crack or split horizontally orlongitudinally. Numerous cracks in several locations along the petioleare often an indication that the variety has insufficient boronnutrition. A variety's ability to utilize boron is a physiologicalcharacteristic which is genetically controlled.

Efficiency. Efficiency as presented here is the percentage by weight ofthe four-inch sticks compared to the gross weight. More efficientvarieties have a greater percentage of the gross weight being convertedinto useable finished product (i.e., four-inch sticks).

Essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics. Aplant having essentially all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics means a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent, except for the characteristicsderived from the converted gene.

Feather Leaf. Feather Leaf is a yellowing of the lower leaves. Itgenerally occurs in the outer petioles but can also be found on innerpetioles of the stalk. These yellowing leaves which would normallyremain in the harvested stalk are considered unacceptable. Thesepetioles then have to be stripped off in order to meet market gradewhich effectively decreases the stalk size and yield.

Fusarium Yellows. A fungal soilborne disease caused by Fusariumoxysporum f. sp. apii Race 2. Infected plants turn yellow and arestunted. Some of the large roots may have a dark brown, water-soakedappearance. The water-conducting tissue (xylem) in the stem, crown, androot show a characteristic orange-brown discoloration. In the laterstages of infection, plants remain severely stunted and yellowed and maycollapse.

Gross Yield. The total yield per acre, of whole, untrimmed celeryplants.

Leaf Margin Chlorosis. A magnesium deficiency producing an interveinalchlorosis which starts at the margin of leaves.

Maturity Date. Maturity in celery can be dictated by two conditions. Thefirst, or true maturity, is the point in time when the celery reachesmaximum size distribution, but before defects such as pith, yellowing,Feather Leaf or Brown Stem appear. The second, or market maturity is anartificial maturity dictated by market conditions, i.e, the marketrequirement may be for 3 dozen sizes so the field is harvested atslightly below maximum yield potential because the smaller sizes arewhat the customers prefer at that moment.

MUN. MUN refers to the MUNSELL Color Chart which publishes an officialcolor chart for plant tissues according to a defined numbering system.The chart may be purchased from the Macbeth Division of KollmorgenInstruments Corporation, 617 Little Britain Road, New Windsor, N.Y.12553-6148.

Petiole. A petiole is the stem or limb of a leaf, the primary portion ofthe celery consumed.

Pith. Pith is a sponginess/hollowness/white discoloration that occurs inthe petioles of varieties naturally as they become over-mature. In somevarieties it occurs at an earlier stage causing harvest to occur priorto ideal maturity. Pith generally occurs in the outer older petiolesfirst. If it occurs, these petioles are stripped off to make grade andeffectively decreases the stalk size and overall yield potential.

Plant Height. The height of the plant from the base or butt of thecelery plant to the top of the tallest leaf.

Quantitative Trait Loci. Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) refers to geneticloci that control to some degree, numerically representable traits thatare usually continuously distributed.

Regeneration. Regeneration refers to the development of a plant fromtissue culture.

Ribbing. The texture of the surface of the celery petiole can vary fromsmooth to ribby depending on the variety. Ribbing is the presence ofnumerous ridges that run vertically along the petioles of the celeryplant.

Single gene converted. Single gene converted or conversion plant refersto plants which are developed by a plant breeding technique calledbackcrossing or via genetic engineering wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a line arerecovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the line viathe backcrossing technique or via genetic engineering.

Stalk. A stalk is a single celery plant that is trimmed with the top orfoliage and having the roots removed.

Stringiness. Stringiness is a physiological characteristic that isgenerally associated with strings that get stuck between the consumer'steeth. There are generally two sources of strings in celery. One is thevascular bundle which can be fairly elastic and behave as a string. Thesecond is a strip of particularly strong epidermis which is located onthe surface of the ridges of the celery varieties that have ribs.

Suckers. Suckers are auxiliary shoots that form at the base of the stalkor within the auxiliary buds between each petiole. If these shoots formbetween the petioles of the stalk, several petioles have to be strippedoff causing the celery to become smaller and the functional yields to bedecreased.

Theoretical Maximum Yield. If you assume 100% 2 dozen size and a 47,000plant population per acre and 70 pound cartons, the theoretical maximumyield would be 68.5 tons.

Vascular Bundle. In celery, the xylem and phloem run vertically throughthe petiole near the epidermis in groups or traces called vascularbundles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

ADS-11 is the result of numerous generations of single plant selectionfrom a cross between Camlynn and Tall Golden Self Blanching. ADS-11 is aprocessing variety that was developed for the purpose of producing freshcelery sticks, which are the ready to eat celery sticks found in grocerystores. The main advantage of ADS-11 is its excellent texture andflavor. ADS-11 was developed to be nearly stringless. ADS-11 is alsothicker and fleshier than most varieties, making it a crisp, juicy, andexcellent-flavored celery.

ADS-11 produced a long petiole that allows for three to four 3-4 inchsticks to be cut. This contrasts with the standard varieties that allowonly one or two sticks to be cut. ADS-11 also produces essentially noheart, so every petiole is useable for stick production and little wasteis created in the processing plant.

Some of the criteria used for selection in various generations include:color, flavor, texture, stalk weight, number of leaves, appearance andlength, yield, maturity, plant architecture, seed yield and quality, anddisease resistance.

The cultivar has shown uniformity and stability for the traits, withinthe limits of environmental influence for the traits. It has beenself-pollinated a sufficient number of generations with carefulattention to uniformity of plant type. The line has been increased withcontinued observation for uniformity. No variant traits have beenobserved or are expected in ADS-11.

Celery cultivar ADS-11 has the following morphologic and othercharacteristics (based primarily on data collected at Salinas, Calif.).

TABLE 1 VARIETY DESCRIPTION INFORMATION Maturity: 98 days in Salinas,California Plant Height: 83.4 cm Number of Outer Petioles (>40 cm): 9.6Number of Inner Petioles (<40 cm): 8.8 Stalk Shape: Cylindrical StalkConformation: Compact Heart Formation: Sparse Petiole Length (from buttto first joint): 45.9 cm Petiole Length Class: Long (>30 cm) PetioleWidth (at midpoint) 2.22 cm Petiole Thickness (at midpoint) 1.05 cmCross Section Shape: Deeply cupped Color (un-blanched at harvest) MUN5GY 7/4 (dark green) Anthocyanin: Absent Stringiness: Very slightRibbing: Smooth Glossiness: Glossy Leaf Blade Color: MUN 5GY 4/4 (darkgreen) Bolting: Susceptible Stress Tolerance: Adaxial Crackstem (BoronDeficiency)- Tolerant Abaxial Crackstem (Boron Deficiency)- TolerantLeaf Margin Chlorosis Tolerant (Magnesium Deficiency)- Blackheart(Calcium Deficiency)- Tolerant Pithiness (Nutritional Deficiency)-Moderate Tolerance Feather Leaf- Tolerant Sucker Development- TolerantDisease Resistance: Fusarium Yellows Race 2 Moderate tolerance (Fusariumoxysporum)- Brown Stem- Tolerant

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a celery plantby crossing a first parent celery plant with a second parent celeryplant, wherein the first parent celery plant or second parent celeryplant is the celery plant from cultivar ADS-11. Further, both the firstparent celery plant and second parent celery plant may be from cultivarADS-11. Therefore, any methods using celery cultivar ADS-11 are part ofthis invention: selfing, backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses topopulations. Any plants produced using celery cultivar ADS-11 as atleast one parent are within the scope of this invention.

Additional methods include, but are not limited to, expression vectorsintroduced into plant tissues using a direct gene transfer method suchas microprojectile-mediated delivery, DNA injection, electroporation andthe like. More preferably, expression vectors are introduced into planttissues by using either microprojectile-mediated delivery with abiolistic device or by using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.Transformant plants obtained with the protoplasm of the invention areintended to be within the scope of this invention.

When celery cultivar ADS-11 is compared to celery cultivar ADS-4, celerycultivar ADS-11 has moderate tolerance to Fusarium, while celerycultivar ADS-4 is considered susceptible to Fusarium.

When celery cultivar ADS-11 is compared to celery cultivar ADS-4, ADS-11is thicker, fleshier, less stringy, more mild and sweet, has a palercolor, is smoother and less ribby, shorter, more prone to becomingpithy, produces larger sticks, and has a more prostrate foliage habit.

FURTHER EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of molecular biological techniques that have allowed theisolation and characterization of genes that encode specific proteinproducts, scientists in the field of plant biology developed a stronginterest in engineering the genome of plants to contain and expressforeign genes, or additional, or modified versions of native, orendogenous, genes (perhaps driven by different promoters) in order toalter the traits of a plant in a specific manner. Such foreignadditional and/or modified genes are referred to herein collectively as“transgenes”. Over the last fifteen to twenty years several methods forproducing transgenic plants have been developed, and the presentinvention, in particular embodiments, also relates to transformedversions of the claimed line.

Plant transformation involves the construction of an expression vectorthat will function in plant cells. Such a vector comprises DNAcomprising a gene under control of or operatively linked to a regulatoryelement (for example, a promoter). The expression vector may contain oneor more such operably linked gene/regulatory element combinations. Thevector(s) may be in the form of a plasmid, and can be used alone or incombination with other plasmids, to provide transformed celery plants,using transformation methods as described below to incorporatetransgenes into the genetic material of the celery plant(s).

Expression Vectors for Celery Transformation: Marker Genes

Expression vectors include at least one genetic marker, operably linkedto a regulatory element (a promoter, for example) that allowstransformed cells containing the marker to be either recovered bynegative selection, i.e., inhibiting growth of cells that do not containthe selectable marker gene, or by positive selection, i.e., screeningfor the product encoded by the genetic marker. Many commonly usedselectable marker genes for plant transformation are well known in thetransformation arts, and include, for example, genes that code forenzymes that metabolically detoxify a selective chemical agent which maybe an antibiotic or a herbicide, or genes that encode an altered targetwhich is insensitive to the inhibitor. A few positive selection methodsare also known in the art.

One commonly used selectable marker gene for plant transformation is theneomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) gene, isolated from transposonTn5, which when placed under the control of plant regulatory signalswhich confers resistance to kanamycin (Fraley et al., Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. U.S.A., 80:4803 (1983)). Another commonly used selectable markergene is the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene which confers resistanceto the antibiotic hygromycin (Vanden Elzen et al., Plant Mol. Biol.,5:299 (1985)).

Additional selectable marker genes of bacterial origin that conferresistance to antibiotics include gentamycin acetyl transferase,streptomycin phosphotransferase, aminoglycoside-3′-adenyl transferase,the bleomycin resistance determinant (Hayford et al., Plant Physiol.86:1216 (1988), Jones et al., Mol. Gen. Genet, 210:86 (1987), Svab etal., Plant Mol. Biol. 14:197 (1990), Hille et al., Plant Mol. Biol.7:171 (1986)). Other selectable marker genes confer resistance toherbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate or bromoxynil (Comai et al.,Nature 317:741-744 (1985), Gordon-Kamm et al., Plant Cell 2:603-618(1990) and Stalker et al., Science 242:419-423 (1988)).

Selectable marker genes for plant transformation that are not ofbacterial origin include, for example, mouse dihydrofolate reductase,plant 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and plant acetolactatesynthase (Eichholtz et al., Somatic Cell Mol. Genet. 13:67 (1987), Shahet al., Science 233:478 (1986), Charest et al., Plant Cell Rep. 8:643(1990)).

Another class of marker genes for plant transformation require screeningof presumptively transformed plant cells rather than direct geneticselection of transformed cells for resistance to a toxic substance suchas an antibiotic. These genes are particularly useful to quantify orvisualize the spatial pattern of expression of a gene in specifictissues and are frequently referred to as reporter genes because theycan be fused to a gene or gene regulatory sequence for the investigationof gene expression. Commonly used genes for screening presumptivelytransformed cells include α-glucuronidase (GUS), α-galactosidase,luciferase and chloramphenicol, acetyltransferase (Jefferson, R. A.,Plant Mol. Biol. Rep. 5:387 (1987), Teeri et al., EMBO J. 8:343 (1989),Koncz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:131 (1987), DeBlock etal., EMBO J. 3:1681 (1984)).

In vivo methods for visualizing GUS activity that do not requiredestruction of plant tissues are available (Molecular Probes publication2908, IMAGENE GREEN, p. 1-4 (1993) and Naleway et al., J. Cell Biol.115:151a (1991)). However, these in vivo methods for visualizing GUSactivity have not proven useful for recovery of transformed cellsbecause of low sensitivity, high fluorescent backgrounds and limitationsassociated with the use of luciferase genes as selectable markers.

More recently, a gene encoding Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has beenutilized as a marker for gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryoticcells (Chalfie et al., Science 263:802 (1994)). GFP and mutants of GFPmay be used as screenable markers.

Expression Vectors for Celery Transformation: Promoters

Genes included in expression vectors must be driven by a nucleotidesequence comprising a regulatory element, for example, a promoter.Several types of promoters are now well known in the transformationarts, as are other regulatory elements that can be used alone or incombination with promoters.

As used herein, “promoter” includes reference to a region of DNAupstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition andbinding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription.A “plant promoter” is a promoter capable of initiating transcription inplant cells. Examples of promoters under developmental control includepromoters that preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues,such as leaves, roots, seeds, fibers, xylem vessels, tracheids, orsclerenchyma. Such promoters are referred to as “tissue-preferred”.Promoters which initiate transcription only in certain tissue arereferred to as “tissue-specific”. A “cell type” specific promoterprimarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs,for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” promoteris a promoter which is under environmental control. Examples ofenvironmental conditions that may effect transcription by induciblepromoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light.Tissue-specific, tissue-preferred, cell type specific, and induciblepromoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A“constitutive” promoter is a promoter which is active under mostenvironmental conditions.

A. Inducible Promoters

An inducible promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression incelery. Optionally, the inducible promoter is operably linked to anucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linkedto a gene for expression in celery. With an inducible promoter the rateof transcription increases in response to an inducing agent.

Any inducible promoter can be used in the instant invention. See Ward etal., Plant Mol. Biol. 22:361-366 (1993). Exemplary inducible promotersinclude, but are not limited to, that from the ACEI system whichresponds to copper (Meft et al., PNAS 90:4567-4571 (1993)); In2 genefrom maize which responds to benzenesulfonamide herbicide safeners(Hershey et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991) and Gatz et al.,Mol. Gen. Genetics 243:32-38 (1994)) or Tet repressor from Tn10 (Gatz etal., MOL Gen. Genetics 227:229-237 (1991). A particularly preferredinducible promoter is a promoter that responds to an inducing agent towhich plants do not normally respond. An exemplary inducible promoter isthe inducible promoter from a steroid hormone gene, the transcriptionalactivity of which is induced by a glucocorticosteroid hormone. Schena etal., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88:0421 (1991).

B. Constitutive Promoters

A constitutive promoter is operably linked to a gene for expression incelery or the constitutive promoter is operably linked to a nucleotidesequence encoding a signal sequence which is operably linked to a genefor expression in celery.

Many different constitutive promoters can be utilized in the instantinvention. Exemplary constitutive promoters include, but are not limitedto, the promoters from plant viruses such as the 35S promoter from CaMV(Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812 (1985) and the promoters from suchgenes as rice actin (McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171 (1990));ubiquitin (Christensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 12:619-632 (1989) andChristensen et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18:675-689 (1992)); pEMU (Last etal., Theor. Appl. Genet 81:581-588 (1991)); MAS (Velten et al., EMBO J.3:2723-2730 (1984)) and maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al., Mol. Gen.Genetics 231:276-285 (1992) and Atanassova et al., Plant Journal 2 (3):291-300 (1992)). The ALS promoter, Xba1/NcoI fragment 5′ to the Brassicanapus ALS3 structural gene (or a nucleotide sequence similarity to saidXba1/NcoI fragment), represents a particularly useful constitutivepromoter. See PCT application WO 96/30530.

C. Tissue-Specific or Tissue-preferred Promoters

A tissue-specific promoter is operably linked to a gene for expressionin celery. Optionally, the tissue-specific promoter is operably linkedto a nucleotide sequence encoding a signal sequence which is operablylinked to a gene for expression in celery. Plants transformed with agene of interest operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter producethe protein product of the transgene exclusively, or preferentially, ina specific tissue.

Any tissue-specific or tissue-preferred promoter can be utilized in theinstant invention. Exemplary tissue-specific or tissue-preferredpromoters include, but are not limited to, a root-preferred promoter,such as that from the phaseolin gene (Murai et al., Science 23:476-482(1983) and Sengupta-Gopalan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.82:3320-3324 (1985)); a leaf-specific and light-induced promoter such asthat from cab or rubisco (Simpson et al., EMBO J. 4(11):2723-2729 (1985)and Timko et al., Nature 318:579-582 (1985)); an anther-specificpromoter such as that from LAT52 (Twell et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics217:240-245 (1989)); a pollen-specific promoter such as that from Zm13(Guerrero et al., Mol. Gen. Genetics 244:161-168 (1993)) or amicrospore-preferred promoter such as that from apg (Twell et al., Sex.Plant Reprod. 6:217-224 (1993).

Signal Sequences for Targeting Proteins to Subcellular Compartments

Transport of protein produced by transgenes to a subcellular compartmentsuch as the chloroplast, vacuole, peroxisome, glyoxysome, cell wall ormitochondrion or for secretion into the apoplast, is accomplished bymeans of operably linking the nucleotide sequence encoding a signalsequence to the 5′ and/or 3′ region of a gene encoding the protein ofinterest. Targeting sequences at the 5′ and/or 3′ end of the structuralgene may determine, during protein synthesis and processing, where theencoded protein is ultimately compartmentalized.

The presence of a signal sequence directs a polypeptide to either anintracellular organelle or subcellular compartment or for secretion tothe apoplast. Many signal sequences are known in the art. See, forexample Becker et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:49 (1992), Close, P. S.,Master's Thesis, Iowa State University (1993), Knox, C., et al.,“Structure and Organization of Two Divergent Alpha-Amylase Genes fromBarley”, Plant Mol. Biol. 9:3-17 (1987), Lerner et al., Plant Physiol.91:124-129 (1989), Fontes et al., Plant Cell 3:483-496 (1991), Matsuokaet al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:834 (1991), Gould et al., J. Cell.Biol. 108:1657 (1989), Creissen et al., Plant J. 2:129 (1991), Kalderon,et al., A short amino acid sequence able to specify nuclear location,Cell 39:499-509 (1984), Steifel, et al., Expression of a maize cell wallhydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein gene in early leaf and root vasculardifferentiation, Plant Cell 2:785-793 (1990).

Foreign Protein Genes and Agronomic Genes

With transgenic plants according to the present invention, a foreignprotein can be produced in commercial quantities. Thus, techniques forthe selection and propagation of transformed plants, which are wellunderstood in the art, yield a plurality of transgenic plants which areharvested in a conventional manner, and a foreign protein then can beextracted from a tissue of interest or from total biomass. Proteinextraction from plant biomass can be accomplished by known methods whichare discussed, for example, by Heney and Orr, Anal. Biochem. 114:92-6(1981).

According to a preferred embodiment, the transgenic plant provided forcommercial production of foreign protein is celery. In another preferredembodiment, the biomass of interest is seed. For the relatively smallnumber of transgenic plants that show higher levels of expression, agenetic map can be generated, primarily via conventional RFLP, PCR andSSR analysis, which identifies the approximate chromosomal location ofthe integrated DNA molecule. For exemplary methodologies in this regard,see Glick and Thompson, Methods in Plant Molecular Biology andBiotechnology CRC Press, Boca Raton 269:284 (1993). Map informationconcerning chromosomal location is useful for proprietary protection ofa subject transgenic plant. If unauthorized propagation is undertakenand crosses made with other germplasm, the map of the integration regioncan be compared to similar maps for suspect plants, to determine if thelatter have a common parentage with the subject plant. Map comparisonswould involve hybridizations, RFLP, PCR, SSR and sequencing, all ofwhich are conventional techniques.

Likewise, by means of the present invention, agronomic genes can beexpressed in transformed plants. More particularly, plants can begenetically engineered to express various phenotypes of agronomicinterest. Exemplary genes implicated in this regard include, but are notlimited to, those categorized below:

1. Genes that Confer Resistance to Pests or Disease and that Encode:

A. Plant disease resistance genes. Plant defenses are often activated byspecific interaction between the product of a disease resistance gene(R) in the plant and the product of a corresponding avirulence (Avr)gene in the pathogen. A plant line can be transformed with a clonedresistance gene to engineer plants that are resistant to specificpathogen strains. See, for example Jones et al., Science 266:789 (1994)(cloning of the tomato Cf-9 gene for resistance to Cladosporium fulvum);Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993) (tomato Pto gene for resistanceto Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato encodes a protein kinase); Mindrinoset al., Cell 78:1089 (1994) (Arabidopsis RSP2 gene for resistance toPseudomonas syringae).

B. A Bacillus thuringiensis protein, a derivative thereof or a syntheticpolypeptide modeled thereon. See, for example, Geiser et al., Gene48:109 (1986), who disclose the cloning and nucleotide sequence of a Btδ-endotoxin gene. Moreover, DNA molecules encoding δ-endotoxin genes canbe purchased from American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va., forexample, under ATCC Accession Nos. 40098, 67136, 31995 and 31998.

C. A lectin. See, for example, the disclosure by Van Damme et al., PlantMolec. Biol. 24:25 (1994), who disclose the nucleotide sequences ofseveral Clivia miniata mannose-binding lectin genes.

D. A vitamin-binding protein such as avidin. See PCT application US93/06487, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.The application teaches the use of avidin and avidin homologues aslarvicides against insect pests.

E. An enzyme inhibitor, for example, a protease or proteinase inhibitoror an amylase inhibitor. See, for example, Abe et al., J. Biol. Chem.262:16793 (1987) (nucleotide sequence of rice cysteine proteinaseinhibitor), Huub et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 21:985 (1993) (nucleotidesequence of cDNA encoding tobacco proteinase inhibitor I), Sumitani etal., Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 57:1243 (1993) (nucleotide sequence ofStreptomyces nitrosporeus α-amylase inhibitor).

F. An insect-specific hormone or pheromone such as an ecdysteroid andjuvenile hormone, a variant thereof, a mimetic based thereon, or anantagonist or agonist thereof. See, for example, the disclosure byHammock et al., Nature 344:458 (1990), of baculovirus expression ofcloned juvenile hormone esterase, an inactivator of juvenile hormone.

G. An insect-specific peptide or neuropeptide which, upon expression,disrupts the physiology of the affected pest. For example, see thedisclosures of Regan, J. Biol. Chem. 269:9 (1994) (expression cloningyields DNA coding for insect diuretic hormone receptor), and Pratt etal., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1243 (1989) (an allostatin isidentified in Diploptera puntata). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,317 toTomalski et al., who disclose genes encoding insect-specific, paralyticneurotoxins.

H. An insect-specific venom produced in nature by a snake, a wasp, etc.For example, see Pang et al., Gene 116:165 (1992), for disclosure ofheterologous expression in plants of a gene coding for a scorpioninsectotoxic peptide.

I. An enzyme responsible for a hyper accumulation of a monoterpene, asesquiterpene, a steroid, hydroxamic acid, a phenylpropanoid derivativeor another non-protein molecule with insecticidal activity.

J. An enzyme involved in the modification, including thepost-translational modification, of a biologically active molecule; forexample, a glycolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme,a nuclease, a cyclase, a transaminase, an esterase, a hydrolase, aphosphatase, a kinase, a phosphorylase, a polymerase, an elastase, achitinase and a glucanase, whether natural or synthetic. See PCTapplication WO 93/02197 in the name of Scott et al., which discloses thenucleotide sequence of a callase gene. DNA molecules which containchitinase-encoding sequences can be obtained, for example, from the ATCCunder Accession Nos. 39637 and 67152. See also Kramer et al., InsectBiochem. Molec. Biol. 23:691 (1993), who teach the nucleotide sequenceof a cDNA encoding tobacco hookworm chitinase, and Kawalleck et al.,Plant Molec. Biol. 21:673 (1993), who provide the nucleotide sequence ofthe parsley ubi4-2 polyubiquitin gene.

K. A molecule that stimulates signal transduction. For example, see thedisclosure by Botella et al., Plant Molec. Biol. 24:757 (1994), ofnucleotide sequences for mung bean calmodulin cDNA clones, and Griess etal., Plant Physiol. 104:1467 (1994), who provide the nucleotide sequenceof a maize calmodulin cDNA clone.

L. A hydrophobic moment peptide. See PCT application WO 95/16776(disclosure of peptide derivatives of tachyplesin which inhibit fungalplant pathogens) and PCT application WO 95/18855 (teaches syntheticantimicrobial peptides that confer disease resistance), the respectivecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

M. A membrane permease, a channel former or a channel blocker. Forexample, see the disclosure of Jaynes et al., Plant Sci 89:43 (1993), ofheterologous expression of a cecropin-β, lytic peptide analog to rendertransgenic tobacco plants resistant to Pseudomonas solanacearum.

N. A viral-invasive protein or a complex toxin derived therefrom. Forexample, the accumulation of viral coat proteins in transformed plantcells imparts resistance to viral infection and/or disease developmenteffected by the virus from which the coat protein gene is derived, aswell as by related viruses. See Beachy et al., Ann. rev. Phytopathol.28:451 (1990). Coat protein-mediated resistance has been conferred upontransformed plants against alfalfa mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus,tobacco streak virus, potato virus X, potato virus Y, tobacco etchvirus, tobacco rattle virus and tobacco mosaic virus. Id.

O. An insect-specific antibody or an immunotoxin derived therefrom.Thus, an antibody targeted to a critical metabolic function in theinsect gut would inactivate an affected enzyme, killing the insect. Cf.Taylor et al., Abstract #497, Seventh Int'l Symposium on MolecularPlant-Microbe Interactions (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1994) (enzymaticinactivation in transgenic tobacco via production of single-chainantibody fragments).

P. A virus-specific antibody. See, for example, Tavladoraki et al.,Nature 366:469 (1993), who show that transgenic plants expressingrecombinant antibody genes are protected from virus attack.

Q. A developmental-arrestive protein produced in nature by a pathogen ora parasite. Thus, fungal endo α-1,4-D-polygalacturonases facilitatefungal colonization and plant nutrient release by solubilizing plantcell wall homo-α-1,4-D-galacturonase. See Lamb et al., Bio/Technology10:1436 (1992). The cloning and characterization of a gene which encodesa bean endopolygalacturonase-inhibiting protein is described by Toubartet al., Plant J. 2:367 (1992).

R. A development-arrestive protein produced in nature by a plant. Forexample, Logemann et al., Bio/Technology 10:305 (1992), have shown thattransgenic plants expressing the barley ribosome-inactivating gene havean increased resistance to fungal disease.

S. A lettuce mosaic potyvirus (LMV) coat protein gene introduced intoLactuca sativa in order to increase its resistance to LMV infection. SeeDinant et al., Molecular Breeding. 1997, 3:1, 75-86.

2. Genes that Confer Resistance to a Herbicide:

A. An herbicide that inhibits the growing point or meristem, such as animidazolinone or a sulfonylurea. Exemplary genes in this category codefor mutant ALS and AHAS enzyme as described, for example, by Lee et al.,EMBO J. 7:1241 (1988), and Miki et al., Theor. Appl. Genet 80:449(1990), respectively.

B. Glyphosate (resistance impaired by mutant5-enolpyruvlshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) and aroA genes,respectively) and other phosphono compounds such as glufosinate(phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT) and Streptomyceshygroscopicus phosphinothricin-acetyl transferase PAT bar genes), andpyridinoxy or phenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones (ACCaseinhibitor-encoding genes). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,835 toShah, et al., which discloses the nucleotide sequence of a form of EPSPSwhich can confer glyphosate resistance. A DNA molecule encoding a mutantaroA gene can be obtained under ATCC accession number 39256, and thenucleotide sequence of the mutant gene is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,769,061 to Comai. See also Umaballava-Mobapathie in TransgenicResearch. 1999, 8: 1, 33-44 that discloses Lactuca sativa resistant toglufosinate. European patent application No. 0 333 033 to Kumada et al.,and U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,374 to Goodman et al., disclose nucleotidesequences of glutamine synthetase genes which confer resistance toherbicides such as L-phosphinothricin. The nucleotide sequence of aphosphinothricin-acetyl-transferase gene is provided in Europeanapplication No. 0 242 246 to Leemans et al., DeGreef et al.,Bio/Technology 7:61 (1989), describe the production of transgenic plantsthat express chimeric bar genes coding for phosphinothricin acetyltransferase activity. Exemplary of genes conferring resistance tophenoxy proprionic acids and cyclohexones, such as sethoxydim andhaloxyfop are the Acc1-S1, Acc1-S2 and Acc1-S3 genes described byMarshall et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:435 (1992).

C. An herbicide that inhibits photosynthesis, such as a triazine (psbAand gs+ genes) and a benzonitrile (nitrilase gene). Przibilla et al.,Plant Cell 3:169 (1991), describe the transformation of Chlamydomonaswith plasmids encoding mutant psbA genes. Nucleotide sequences fornitrilase genes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,648 to Stalker, andDNA molecules containing these genes are available under ATCC AccessionNos. 53435, 67441, and 67442. Cloning and expression of DNA coding for aglutathione S-transferase is described by Hayes et al., Biochem. J.285:173 (1992).

D. Acetohydroxy acid synthase, which has been found to make plants thatexpress this enzyme resistant to multiple types of herbicides, has beenintroduced into a variety of plants. See Hattori et al., Mol. Gen.Genet. 246:419, 1995. Other genes that confer tolerance to herbicidesinclude a gene encoding a chimeric protein of rat cytochrome P4507A1 andyeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (Shiota et al., PlantPhysiol., 106:17, 1994), genes for glutathione reductase and superoxidedismutase (Aono et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 36:1687, 1995), and genesfor various phosphotransferases (Datta et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 20:619,1992).

E. Protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) is necessary for the productionof chlorophyll, which is necessary for all plant survival. The protoxenzyme serves as the target for a variety of herbicidal compounds. Theseherbicides also inhibit growth of all the different species of plantspresent, causing their total destruction. The development of plantscontaining altered protox activity which are resistant to theseherbicides are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,306; 6,282,837;5,767,373; and international publication WO 01/12825.

3. Genes that Confer or Contribute to a Value-Added Trait, Such as:

A. Increased iron content of the celery, for example by transforming aplant with a soybean ferritin gene as described in Goto et al., ActaHorticulturae. 2000, 521, 101-109.

B. Decreased nitrate content of leaves, for example by transforming acelery with a gene coding for a nitrate reductase. See for exampleCurtis et al., Plant Cell Report. 1999, 18: 11, 889-896.

C. Increased sweetness of the celery by transferring a gene coding formonellin, that elicits a flavor 100,000 times sweeter than sugar on amolar basis. See Penarrubia et al., Biotechnology. 1992, 10: 561-564.

D. Modified fatty acid metabolism, for example, by transforming a plantwith an antisense gene of stearyl-ACP desaturase to increase stearicacid content of the plant. See Knultzon et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.USA 89:2625 (1992).

E. Modified carbohydrate composition effected, for example, bytransforming plants with a gene coding for an enzyme that alters thebranching pattern of starch. See Shiroza et al., J. Bacteriol. 170:810(1988) (nucleotide sequence of Streptococcus mutantsfructosyltransferase gene), Steinmetz et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 20:220(1985) (nucleotide sequence of Bacillus subtilis levansucrase gene), Penet al., Bio/Technology 10:292 (1992) (production of transgenic plantsthat express Bacillus licheniformis α-amylase), Elliot et al., PlantMolec. Biol. 21:515 (1993) (nucleotide sequences of tomato invertasegenes), Søgaard et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268:22480 (1993) (site-directedmutagenesis of barley α-amylase gene), and Fisher et al., Plant Physiol.102:1045 (1993) (maize endosperm starch branching enzyme 11).

4. Genes that Control Male-Sterility

A. Introduction of a deacetylase gene under the control of atapetum-specific promoter and with the application of the chemicalN-Ac-PPT. See international publication WO 01/29237.

B. Introduction of various stamen-specific promoters. See internationalpublications WO 92/13956 and WO 92/13957.

C. Introduction of the barnase and the barstar genes. See Paul et al.,Plant Mol. Biol. 19:611-622, 1992).

Methods for Celery Transformation

Numerous methods for plant transformation have been developed, includingbiological and physical, plant transformation protocols. See, forexample, Miki et al., “Procedures for Introducing Foreign DNA intoPlants” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, GlickB. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993) pages67-88. In addition, expression vectors and in vitro culture methods forplant cell or tissue transformation and regeneration of plants areavailable. See, for example, Gruber et al., “Vectors for PlantTransformation” in Methods in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,Glick B. R. and Thompson, J. E. Eds. (CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, 1993)pages 89-119.

A. Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation

One method for introducing an expression vector into plants is based onthe natural transformation system of Agrobacterium. See, for example,Horsch et al., Science 227:1229 (1985). Curtis et al., Journal ofExperimental Botany. 1994, 45: 279, 1441-1449, Torres et al., Plant cellTissue and Organic Culture. 1993, 34: 3, 279-285, Dinant et al.,Molecular Breeding. 1997, 3: 1, 75-86. A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenesare plant pathogenic soil bacteria which genetically transform plantcells. The Ti and Ri plasmids of A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes,respectively, carry genes responsible for genetic transformation of theplant. See, for example, Kado, C. I., Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 10:1 (1991).Descriptions of Agrobacterium vector systems and methods forAgrobacterium-mediated gene transfer are provided by Gruber et al.,supra, Miki et al., supra, and Moloney et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:238(1989). See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,616 issued Jan. 7, 1997.

B. Direct Gene Transfer

Several methods of plant transformation collectively referred to asdirect gene transfer have been developed as an alternative toAgrobacterium-mediated transformation. A generally applicable method ofplant transformation is microprojectile-mediated transformation whereinDNA is carried on the surface of microprojectiles measuring 1 to 4 μm.The expression vector is introduced into plant tissues with a biolisticdevice that accelerates the microprojectiles to speeds of 300 to 600 m/swhich is sufficient to penetrate plant cell walls and membranes.Russell, D. R., et al. Pl. Cell. Rep. 12(3, Jan.), 165-169 (1993),Aragao, F. J. L., et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 20(2, Oct.), 357-359 (1992),Aragao, F. J. L., et al. Pl. Cell. Rep. 12(9, July), 483-490 (1993).Aragao, Theor. Appl. Genet. 93: 142-150 (1996), Kim, J.; Minamikawa, T.Plant Science 117: 131-138 (1996), Sanford et al., Part. Sci. Technol.5:27 (1987), Sanford, J. C., Trends Biotech. 6:299 (1988), Klein et al.,Bio/Technology 6:559-563 (1988), Sanford, J. C., Physiol Plant 7:206(1990), Klein et al., Biotechnology 10:268 (1992)

Another method for physical delivery of DNA to plants is sonication oftarget cells. Zhang et al., Bio/Technology 9:996 (1991). Alternatively,liposome or spheroplast fusion have been used to introduce expressionvectors into plants. Deshayes et al., EMBO J., 4:2731 (1985), Christouet al., Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84:3962 (1987). Direct uptake ofDNA into protoplasts using CaCl₂ precipitation, polyvinyl alcohol orpoly-L-ornithine have also been reported. Hain et al., Mol. Gen. Genet199:161 (1985) and Draper et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 23:451 (1982).Electroporation of protoplasts and whole cells and tissues have alsobeen described. Saker, M.; Kuhne, T. Biologia Plantarum 40(4): 507-514(1997/98), Donn et al., In Abstracts of VIIth International Congress onPlant Cell and Tissue Culture IAPTC, A2-38, p 53 (1990); D'Halluin etal., Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (1992) and Spencer et al., Plant Mol. Biol.24:51-61 (1994). See also Chupean et al., Biotechnology. 1989, 7: 5,503-508.

Following transformation of celery target tissues, expression of theabove-described selectable marker genes allows for preferentialselection of transformed cells, tissues and/or plants, usingregeneration and selection methods now well known in the art.

The foregoing methods for transformation would typically be used forproducing a transgenic line. The transgenic line could then be crossed,with another (non-transformed or transformed) line, in order to producea new transgenic celery line. Alternatively, a genetic trait which hasbeen engineered into a particular celery cultivar using the foregoingtransformation techniques could be moved into another line usingtraditional backcrossing techniques that are well known in the plantbreeding arts. For example, a backcrossing approach could be used tomove an engineered trait from a public, non-elite inbred line into anelite inbred line, or from an inbred line containing a foreign gene inits genome into an inbred line or lines which do not contain that gene.As used herein, “crossing” can refer to a simple X by Y cross, or theprocess of backcrossing, depending on the context.

Single-Gene Conversions

When the term celery plant, cultivar or celery line are used in thecontext of the present invention, this also includes any single geneconversions of that line. The term “single gene converted plant” as usedherein refers to those celery plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing wherein essentially all of thedesired morphological and physiological characteristics of a cultivarare recovered in addition to the single gene transferred into the linevia the backcrossing technique. Backcrossing methods can be used withthe present invention to improve or introduce a characteristic into theline. The term “backcrossing” as used herein refers to the repeatedcrossing of a hybrid progeny back to one of the parental celery plantsfor that line, backcrossing 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or more times to therecurrent parent. The parental celery plant which contributes the genefor the desired characteristic is termed the nonrecurrent or donorparent. This terminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parentis used one time in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur.The parental celery plant to which the gene or genes from thenonrecurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent asit is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol (Poehlman &Sleper, 1994; Fehr, 1987). In a typical backcross protocol, the originalcultivar of interest (recurrent parent) is crossed to a second line(nonrecurrent parent) that carries the single gene of interest to betransferred. The resulting progeny from this cross are then crossedagain to the recurrent parent and the process is repeated until a celeryplant is obtained wherein essentially all of the desired morphologicaland physiological characteristics of the recurrent parent are recoveredin the converted plant, in addition to the single transferred gene fromthe nonrecurrent parent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalline. To accomplish this, a single gene of the recurrent cultivar ismodified or substituted with the desired gene from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphological,constitution of the original line. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross, one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable, agronomicallyimportant trait to the plant. The exact backcrossing protocol willdepend on the characteristic or trait being altered to determine anappropriate testing protocol. Although backcrossing methods aresimplified when the characteristic being transferred is a dominantallele, a recessive allele may also be transferred. In this instance itmay be necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if thedesired characteristic has been successfully transferred.

Many single gene traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new line but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single gene traits may or may not betransgenic, examples of these traits include but are not limited to,male sterility, modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydratemetabolism, herbicide resistance, resistance for bacterial, fungal, orviral disease, insect resistance, enhanced nutritional quality,industrial usage, yield stability and yield enhancement. These genes aregenerally inherited through the nucleus. Several of these single genetraits are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,777,196, 5,948,957 and5,969,212, the disclosures of which are specifically hereby incorporatedby reference.

Tissue Culture

Further reproduction of the variety can occur by tissue culture andregeneration. Tissue culture of various tissues of celery andregeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published. Forexample, reference may be had to Teng et al., HortScience. 1992, 27: 9,1030-1032 Teng et al., HortScience. 1993, 28: 6, 669-1671, Zhang et al.,Journal of Genetics and Breeding. 1992, 46: 3, 287-290, Webb et al.,Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture. 1994, 38: 1, 77-79, Curtis et al.,Journal of Experimental Botany. 1994, 45: 279, 1441-1449, Nagata et al.,Journal for the American Society for Horticultural Science. 2000, 125:6, 669-672, and Ibrahim et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture.(1992), 28(2): 139-145. It is clear from the literature that the stateof the art is such that these methods of obtaining plants are routinelyused and have a very high rate of success. Thus, another aspect of thisinvention is to provide cells which upon growth and differentiationproduce celery plants having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of variety ADS-11.

As used herein, the term “tissue culture” indicates a compositioncomprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or acollection of such cells organized into parts of a plant. Exemplarytypes of tissue cultures are protoplasts, calli, meristematic cells, andplant cells that can generate tissue culture that are intact in plantsor parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots, root tips,anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, suckers and the like. Meansfor preparing and maintaining plant tissue culture are well known in theart. By way of example, a tissue culture comprising organs has been usedto produce regenerated plants. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,959,185; 5,973,234 and5,977,445 describe certain techniques, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Additional Breeding Methods

This invention also is directed to methods for producing a celery plantby crossing a first parent celery plant with a second parent celeryplant wherein the first or second parent celery plant is a celery plantof cultivar ADS-11. Further, both first and second parent celery plantscan come from celery cultivar ADS-11. Thus, any such methods usingcelery cultivar ADS-11 are part of this invention: selfing, backcrosses,hybrid production, crosses to populations, and the like. All plantsproduced using celery cultivar ADS-11 as at least one parent are withinthe scope of this invention, including those developed from cultivarsderived from celery cultivar ADS-11. Advantageously, this celerycultivar could be used in crosses with other, different, celery plantsto produce the first generation (F₁) celery hybrid seeds and plants withsuperior characteristics. The cultivar of the invention can also be usedfor transformation where exogenous genes are introduced and expressed bythe cultivar of the invention. Genetic variants created either throughtraditional breeding methods using celery cultivar ADS-11 or throughtransformation of cultivar ADS-11 by any of a number of protocols knownto those of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of thisinvention.

The following describes breeding methods that may be used with celerycultivar ADS-11 in the development of further celery plants. One suchembodiment is a method for developing cultivar ADS-11 progeny celeryplants in a celery plant breeding program comprising: obtaining thecelery plant, or a part thereof, of cultivar ADS-11 utilizing said plantor plant part as a source of breeding material, and selecting a celerycultivar ADS-11 progeny plant with molecular markers in common withcultivar ADS-11 and/or with morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics selected from the characteristics listed in Table 1.Breeding steps that may be used in the celery plant breeding programinclude pedigree breeding, back crossing, mutation breeding, andrecurrent selection. In conjunction with these steps, techniques such asRFLP-enhanced selection, genetic marker enhanced selection (for exampleSSR markers) and the making of double haploids may be utilized.

Another method involves producing a population of celery cultivar ADS-11progeny celery plants, comprising crossing cultivar ADS-11 with anothercelery plant, thereby producing a population of celery plants, which, onaverage, derive 50% of their alleles from celery cultivar ADS-11. Aplant of this population may be selected and repeatedly selfed or sibbedwith a celery cultivar resulting from these successive filialgenerations. One embodiment of this invention is the celery cultivarproduced by this method and that has obtained at least 50% of itsalleles from celery cultivar ADS-11.

One of ordinary skill in the art of plant breeding would know how toevaluate the traits of two plant varieties to determine if there is nosignificant difference between the two traits expressed by thosevarieties. For example, see Fehr and Walt, Principles of CultivarDevelopment, p 261-286 (1987). Thus the invention includes celerycultivar ADS-11 progeny celery plants comprising a combination of atleast two cultivar ADS-11 traits selected from the group consisting ofthose listed in Table 1 or the cultivar ADS-11 combination of traitslisted in the Summary of the Invention, so that said progeny celeryplant is not significantly different for said traits than celerycultivar ADS-11 as determined at the 5% significance level when grown inthe same environmental conditions. Using techniques described herein,molecular markers may be used to identify said progeny plant as a celerycultivar ADS-11 progeny plant. Mean trait values may be used todetermine whether trait differences are significant, and preferably thetraits are measured on plants grown under the same environmentalconditions. Once such a variety is developed its value is substantialsince it is important to advance the germplasm base as a whole in orderto maintain or improve traits such as yield, disease resistance, pestresistance, and plant performance in extreme environmental conditions.

Progeny of celery cultivar ADS-11 may also be characterized throughtheir filial relationship with celery cultivar ADS-11, as for example,being within a certain number of breeding crosses of celery cultivarADS-11. A breeding cross is a cross made to introduce new genetics intothe progeny, and is distinguished from a cross, such as a self or a sibcross, made to select among existing genetic alleles. The lower thenumber of breeding crosses in the pedigree, the closer the relationshipbetween celery cultivar ADS-11 and its progeny. For example, progenyproduced by the methods described herein may be within 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5breeding crosses of celery cultivar ADS-11.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cell tissue cultures from which celery plants can beregenerated, plant calli, plant clumps and plant cells that are intactin plants or parts of plants, such as leaves, pollen, embryos, roots,root tips, anthers, pistils, flowers, seeds, petioles, suckers and thelike.

TABLES

In the tables that follow, the traits and characteristics of celerycultivar ADS-11 are given compared to other check cultivars.

One of the main attributes of celery cultivar ADS-11 is a long petiolewhich allows more 4-inch sticks to be cut from each stalk when comparedto other celery cultivars. Table 2 below compares field harvest yieldsbetween celery cultivar ADS-11 and Sabrosa. Data were taken in November2002, in Oxnard, Calif. from a total population of 47,000 plants. Columnone shows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, and column three shows the weight in pounds of the4-inch sticks per acre. Celery cultivar ADS-11 has a higher number andweight of 4-inch sticks per acre than cultivar Sabrosa.

TABLE 2 Number of 4-inch Weight (lbs) of 4- Variety sticks/acre inchsticks/acre ADS-11 1,537,506 37,012 Sabrosa 758,682 25,262

Table 3 below shows data from field harvest yields taken from ADS-11plants in June 2003 in Oxnard, Calif. from a total plant population of47,000. Column one shows the number of 4-inch sticks obtained per acreand column two shows the weight in pounds of the 4-inch sticks per acre.

TABLE 3 Number of 4-inch Weight (lbs) of 4- Variety sticks/acre inchsticks/acre ADS-11 1,575,000 40,369

Table 4 below compares field harvest yields between celery cultivarADS-11, celery cultivar ADS-4, and Camlynn. Data were taken in June 2004in Oxnard, Calif. from a total population of 63,000 plants. There wasslight pressure from Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 in this crop. Column oneshows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, column three shows the weight in pounds of the 4-inchsticks per acre, column four shows the gross yield in pounds per acre,and column five shows the efficiency percentage. Celery cultivar ADS-11has a higher number and weight of four inch sticks per acre, a highergross yield per acre, and a higher efficiency than celery cultivarsADS-4 and Camlynn. The improved tolerance of celery cultivar ADS-11 whencompared to celery cultivar ADS-4 for Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 isevident when the yields are compared with those in Table 6. While celerycultivar ADS-11 is consistent in yield, celery cultivar ADS-4 issignificantly lower in Table 4 under slight disease pressure.

TABLE 4 Number of 4- Weight (lbs) of 4- Gross yield Efficiency Varietyinch sticks/acre inch sticks/acre (lbs)/acre (%) ADS-11 1,790,460 26,66263,656 42 ADS-4 955,710 10,919 37,537 29 Camlynn 1,379,700 17,168 43,31340

Table 5 below compares field harvest yields between celery cultivarADS-11 and celery cultivar ADS-4. Data were taken in November 2004 inOxnard, Calif. from a total population of 47,000 plants. There wassevere pressure from Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 in this crop. Column oneshows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, column three shows the weight in pounds of the 4-inchsticks per acre, column four shows the gross yield in pounds per acre,and column five shows the efficiency percentage. Celery cultivar ADS-11has a higher number and weight of four inch sticks per acre, a highergross yield per acre, and a higher efficiency than does celery cultivarADS-4. Under the severe Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 pressure, celerycultivar ADS-4 had no marketable 4-inch sticks, while the number of4-inch sticks produced by celery cultivar ADS-11 was only slightlyreduced, when Tables 6 and 9 are compared.

TABLE 5 Number of 4- Weight (lbs) of 4- Gross yield Efficiency Varietyinch sticks/acre inch sticks/acre (lbs)/acre (%) ADS-11 1,335,600 22,68049,770 46 ADS-4 0 0 23,310 0

Table 6 below compares field harvest yields between celery cultivarADS-11 and celery cultivar ADS-4. Data were taken in June 2005 inOxnard, Calif. from a total population of 52,800 plants grown underconditions with very low levels of Fusarium oxysporum Race 2. Column oneshows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, column three shows the weight in pounds of the 4-inchsticks per acre, column four shows the gross yield in pounds per acre,and column five shows the efficiency percentage. Celery cultivar ADS-11has a higher number and weight of four inch sticks per acre, and ahigher gross yield per acre than does celery cultivar ADS-4.

TABLE 6 Number of 4- Weight (lbs) of 4- Gross yield Efficiency Varietyinch sticks/acre inch sticks/acre (lbs)/acre (%) ADS-11 1,779,360 21,70148,840 44 ADS-4 1,774,080 18,480 39,917 46

Table 7 below compares field harvest yields between celery cultivarADS-11 and celery cultivar ADS-4. Data were taken in June 2005 inOxnard, Calif. from a total population of 63,000 plants. There wassevere pressure from Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 in this crop. Column oneshows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, and column three shows the weight in pounds of the4-inch sticks per acre. Celery cultivar ADS-11 has a higher number andweight of 4-inch sticks per acre than celery cultivar ADS-4. Undersevere Fusarium oxysporum Race 2 pressure, celery cultivar ADS-4 had nomarketable 4-inch sticks, while the number of 4-inch sticks produced bycelery cultivar ADS-11 was only slightly reduced, when Tables 6 and 9are compared.

TABLE 7 Number of 4-inch Weight (lbs) of 4- Variety sticks/acre inchsticks/acre ADS-11 1,333,500 22,995 ADS-4 0 0

Table 8 below compares data from field harvest yields between celerycultivar ADS-11 and celery cultivar ADS-4. Data were taken in October2005 in Salinas, Calif. from a total population of 52,800 plants grownunder conditions with no exposure to Fusarium oxysporum Race 2. Columnone shows the variety name, column two shows the number of 4-inch sticksobtained per acre, column three shows the weight in pounds of the 4-inchsticks per acre, column four shows the gross yield in pounds per acre,and column five shows the efficiency percentage. Celery cultivar ADS-11has a higher number and weight of four inch sticks per acre, a highergross yield per acre, and a higher efficiency than does celery cultivarADS-4.

TABLE 8 Number of 4- Weight (lbs) of 4- Gross yield Efficiency Varietyinch sticks/acre inch sticks/acre (lbs)/acre (%) ADS-11 1,653,750 29,13864,103 45 ADS-4 1,644,300 20,644 42,777 48

Table 9 below compares field harvest yields of celery cultivar ADS-11from three large productions in Oxnard, Calif. The yields are expressedin totes per acre, where one tote is equal to 45 pounds. Totes arefilled in the field and then hauled to the processing plant whereprocessing occurs. Plant populations were 58,000 per acre.

TABLE 9 Yield in Pounds Maturity, Total Total Totes Totes per HarvestDate in Days Acres Harvested per Acre acre May 10, 2005 82 1.35 2,2321,653 74,385 May 25, 2005 82 1.85 2,543 1,375 61,875 Jun. 13, 2005 794.30 6,802 1,582 71,190

Table 10 below compares the differences between vascular bundlediameters and depth for ADS-11 and four other celery cultivars. Largervascular bundles buried deeper in the petiole make ADS-11 effectivelyless stringy. Column one shows the variety name, column two shows theaverage value of the vascular bundle depth below the petiole surface inmillimeters, column three shows the range of values of the vascularbundle depth below the petiole surface, column four shows the averagevascular bundle thickness in millimeters, and column five shows therange of values of the vascular bundle thickness in millimeters.

TABLE 10 Vascular Bundle Depth Below the Petiole Vascular Bundle Surface(mm) Thickness (mm) Variety Average Range Rank Average Range Rank ADS-111.89 1.65-2.18 b 0.83 0.74-0.94 b ADS-4 1.41 1.23-1.59 c 0.68 0.61-0.78c Tall Utah 52- 0.96 0.83-1.14 e 0.57 0.49-0.77 d 70, “R” StrainConquistador 1.03 0.87-1.23 d 0.56 0.42-0.67 d ADS-1 1.97 1.36-2.49 a0.88 0.82-0.97 a P value <.001 <.001 LSD (5%) 0.03 0.005

DEPOSIT INFORMATION

A deposit of the A. Duda & Sons, Inc. proprietary celery cultivar ADS-11disclosed above and recited in the appended claims has been made withthe American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard,Manassas, Va. 20110. The date of deposit was Aug. 8. 2007. The depositof 2,500 seeds was taken from the same deposit maintained by A. Duda &Sons, Inc. since prior to the filing date of this application. Allrestrictions upon the deposit have been removed, and the deposit isintended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. TheATCC accession number is PTA-8573. The deposit will be maintained in thedepository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request,or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and willbe replaced as necessary during that period.

While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussedabove, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof. It is thereforeintended that the following appended claims and claims hereafterintroduced are interpreted to include all such modifications,permutations, additions, and sub-combinations as are within their truespirit and scope.

1. A seed of celery cultivar ADS-11, wherein a representative sample ofseed of said cultivar was deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-8573.2. A celery plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the seed ofclaim
 1. 3. A tissue culture of cells produced from the plant of claim2, wherein said cells of the tissue culture are produced from a plantpart selected from the group consisting of callus, meristematic cell,leaf, pollen, embryo, root, root tip, anther, pistil, flower, seed,petiole and sucker.
 4. A protoplast produced from the plant of claim 2.5. A protoplast produced from the tissue culture of claim
 3. 6. A celeryplant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 3, wherein the planthas all of the morphological and physiological characteristics ofcultivar ADS-11, wherein a representative sample of seed of saidcultivar was deposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-8573.
 7. A methodfor producing an F₁ hybrid celery seed, comprising crossing the plant ofclaim 2 with a different celery plant and harvesting the resultant F₁hybrid celery seed.
 8. A hybrid celery seed produced by the method ofclaim
 7. 9. A hybrid celery plant, or a part thereof, produced bygrowing said hybrid seed of claim
 8. 10. A method for producing a malesterile celery plant comprising transforming the celery plant of claim 2with a nucleic acid molecule that confers male sterility.
 11. A malesterile celery plant produced by the method of claim
 10. 12. A method ofproducing an herbicide resistant celery plant comprising transformingthe celery plant of claim 2 with a transgene wherein the transgeneconfers resistance to an herbicide selected from the group consisting ofimidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate,L-phosphinothricin, triazine and benzonitrile.
 13. An herbicideresistant celery plant produced by the method of claim
 12. 14. A methodof producing an insect resistant celery plant comprising transformingthe celery plant of claim 2 with a transgene that confers insectresistance.
 15. An insect resistant celery plant produced by the methodof claim
 14. 16. The celery plant of claim 15, wherein the transgeneencodes a Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin.
 17. A method of producing adisease resistant celery plant comprising transforming the celery plantof claim 2 with a transgene that confers disease resistance.
 18. Adisease resistant celery plant produced by the method of claim
 17. 19. Amethod of producing a celery plant with modified fatty acid metabolismor modified carbohydrate metabolism comprising transforming the celeryplant of claim 2 with a transgene encoding a protein selected from thegroup consisting of fructosyltransferase, levansucrase, α-amylase,invertase and starch branching enzyme or encoding an antisense ofstearyl-ACP desaturase.
 20. A celery plant having modified fatty acidmetabolism or modified carbohydrate metabolism produced by the method ofclaim
 19. 21. A celery plant, or a part thereof, having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of cultivar ADS-11,wherein a representative sample of seed of said cultivar was depositedunder ATCC Accession No. PTA-8573.
 22. A method of introducing a desiredtrait into celery cultivar ADS-11 comprising: (a) crossing ADS-11 plantsgrown from ADS-11 seed, wherein a representative sample of seed wasdeposited under ATCC Accession No. PTA-8573, with plants of anothercelery cultivar that comprise a desired trait to produce progeny plants,wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, disease resistance,modified fatty acid metabolism, modified carbohydrate metabolism, andresistance to bacterial disease, fungal disease or viral disease; (b)selecting one or more progeny plants that have the desired trait toproduce selected progeny plants; (c) crossing the selected progenyplants with ADS-11 plants to produce backcross progeny plants; (d)selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait andthe physiological and morphological characteristics of celery cultivarADS-11 listed in Table 1 to produce selected backcross progeny plants;and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times in succession toproduce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny plants that comprisethe desired trait and the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of celery cultivar ADS-11 listed in Table
 1. 23. Acelery plant produced by the method of claim 22, wherein the plant hasthe desired trait and all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of celery cultivar ADS-11 listed in Table
 1. 24. Thecelery plant of claim 23, wherein the desired trait is herbicideresistance and the resistance is conferred to an herbicide selected fromthe group consisting of imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate,glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine and benzonitrile.
 25. Thecelery plant of claim 23, wherein the desired trait is insect resistanceand the insect resistance is conferred by a transgene encoding aBacillus thuringiensis endotoxin.
 26. The celery plant of claim 23,wherein the desired trait is male sterility and the trait is conferredby a cytoplasmic nucleic acid molecule.